While women across the nation fight for equal pay, women-business owners are struggling to receive equal funding. According to Q4 results from the Pepperdine Private Capital Access (PCA) Index, done in conjunction with Dun & Bradstreet, women-owned businesses (WOB) are receiving financing below the national average, and are feeling more restricted when it comes to growth. Below are some of the highlights from the survey.

Women-Owned businesses are on par with the rest of the nation in terms of hiring and plans to raise financing

63 percent of WOB surveyed are planning to hire in the next 6 months (national average: 66%)

74 percent of WOB surveyed are in need of financing due to planned growth (national average: 70%)

Despite these similarities, WOBs are feeling considerably more restricted than the rest of the nation

69 percent of WOB feel their growth opportunities are restricted, and 62% feel their ability to hire is restricted

Compared to the national average, WOBs are feeling more restricted by 12% and 14% respectively

In addition to feeling as though they lack growth opportunities and the ability to hire, WOBs are also getting less funding, compared to the national average

In the past three months, 26% of WOBs surveyed qualified for a bank loan

Nationally, that statistic is 11% higher, on average.

Women-owned businesses are clearly not getting the financing they need, and so they have turned to personal assets and credit cards

60 percent relied on personal credit cards to fund their business (8 percent higher than the national average)

54 percent used a personal loan for their business needs (5 percent higher than the national average)